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Success™ works, from the comfort of your own school, office or home. Set up a
guided tour at your convenience!

Make a Difference!

Keys to Reading Success™ provides you with the tools
and resources to make a difference in life of every student -- especially those
who have not been successful in reading.

Impact on Learning

”2/3 of the students in grades 1-3 rose from 1-7 grade
levels in reading above grade level in one school year.
"In that one year, I learned more about teaching reading
from this training than from my entire college
education." --M.S., Teacher, Farragut Elementary
School.

Impact on Teachers

"The teacher training in reading is the best I have ever
taken." --Special Education Teacher, Naperville Public Schools

"The course in how to teach reading stretched my
thinking about learning. The material was practical,
hands-on, and relevant. Excellent trainer. It is the
best course I have taken in years." --High School Title
1 Reading Teacher, Downers
Grove, Illinois

"I
now have some tools and tests to evaluate why some of my
students are not learning and to have techniques to
teach to all my students. I recommend that every teacher
take this training--it will open your eyes and hearts."
--Teacher, Aurora Public Schools

Questions and
Answers

Teacher Section:

Question:
Why do so many children struggle to learn to read?

Answer: Reading is a learned skill. For some children, the process of
learning to read occurs rather quickly in a relatively smooth matter. While it
requires effort on the part of these children, the process is mastered quite
easily, regardless of the instructional methods used by the parent or teacher.
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) estimates
that only 5% of children learn to read and write so quickly and easily. These
children enter school with reading skills that enable them to read and
comprehend words they have already seen and even those words that are new.
However, this is not the case with many other children. Another 20%-30% of
children learn to read with relative ease once they have been exposed to formal
instruction, regardless of the methodology used. For almost 60% of children,
however, learning to read is a great challenge – and for 20% - 30% of these
youngsters, it is the most difficult task they will ever have to master in
school.

Question:
Which children are most likely to struggle with reading?

Answer:
The poor, minorities, and non-native speakers are much
more likely to struggle with reading. Results from the
National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP, 1994)
yield data that is cause for alarm. Seventy-one percent
of African-American fourth grade students and 81% of
Hispanic students were reading below grade level. We can
add to these statistics the fact that twenty-three
percent of Asian students were reading below grade
level, and 44% of white students were below grade level.
In addition, in California, almost half of the
fourth-grade students reading below grade level were
from homes where parents had graduated from college!

In
a report to the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human
Reources, Dr. Reid Lyon, Chief of the Child Development
and Behavior Branch of NICHD, explains that “…reading
failure is a serious national problem and can not simply
be attributed to poverty, immigration, or the learning
of English as a second language.”
[1]

Question:
Are children more likely to experience frustration with
reading as they enter higher grades?

Answer: According to Dr. Lyon, “It is clear from our
NICHD-supported longitudinal studies that follow good
and poor readers from kindergarten into young adulthood
that our young poor readers are not used to such
failure. By the end of the first grade, we begin to
notice substantial decreases in the children’s
self-esteem, self-concept, and motivation to learn to
read if they have not been able to master reading skills
and keep up with their age-mates. As we follow the
children through elementary and middle-school grades
these problems compound, and, in many cases very bright
youngsters are unable to learn about the wonders of
science, mathematics, literature and the like because
they can not read the grade-level textbooks. By high
school, these children's potential for entering college
has decreased to almost nil, with few choices available
to them with respect to occupational and vocational
opportunities. These individuals constantly tell us that
they hate to read, primarily because it is such hard
work, and their reading is so slow and laborious. As one
adolescent in one of our longitudinal studies remarked
recently, ‘I would rather have a root canal than read.’"[2]

Question:
Is it necessary to teach all children basic reading
“skills” or will most children pick up the skills if
they are exposed to a lot of interested literature?

Answer:
Thirty-three years of research focused on studying
reading development have been funded by the NICHD. Over
the course of twelve years, 21,860 “good readers” and
12,641 individuals with reading difficulties were
studied to determine the elements of the ‘normal’
reading process and to understand the difficulties of,
and identify factors associated with struggling readers.
The research shows that learning to read English is a
complex process that is not as easy or natural as many
believe. There are critical skills that children apply
to reading – whether they acquire those skills
informally or formally. For example, children must learn
how sounds connect to print in order to read words. They
must learn to read words with fluency, that is, with
sufficient speed and pace. They have to learn to read
words automatically. If they read too slowly and with
great labor, they will not be able to remember the words
they are reading and they will not have created the
conditions to allow meaning to emerge from the words.
Children must be able to construct meaning from the
words they read. The goal is to move students from
“learning to read,” to “reading to learn.”

As
the research shows, not all children are in need of the
same level or type of reading instruction at the same
time. The fortunate 5% of children who find reading to
be an easy and natural process do not need the same kind
of instruction as those 60% for whom learning to read is
a challenge. They certainly have different instructional
needs than the 20-30% of those who are challenged for
whom reading is one of the most difficult of tasks they
will face in school.

Question:
What can teachers, especially those who have not been
trained to teach reading, do to help?

Answer:
With so many overcrowded classrooms, with so many
children with different backgrounds, needs, skill levels
and learning preferences, how is a busy teacher to
identify what help is needed for each student – and what
reading skills and instructional methods are most suited
for certain students, but not others? How does the
teacher determine, for example, which children will
benefit from additional skills practice provided in a
structured manner, and which may be bored or frustrated
by such work? How can a teacher ensure that the right
instruction is being delivered at the right time to the
right students?

Teachers need to have the tools to quickly screen
students to determine their current reading level,
fluency, and comprehension skill level. They need to
have the diagnostic tools to quickly and accurately
pinpoint the specific gaps in reading skills of those
students who are identified as below grade level. They
need ongoing feedback on reading growth for all students
to help ensure that every student is receiving
appropriate instruction and help, regardless of his or
her level of reading achievement. And teachers also need
instructional resources to help them address the variety
of their students’ needs. In short, teachers need to
have the tools to screen for “who” needs help to catch
up with others who read at grade level, the tools to
diagnosis “what” specific help to provide their
students; and the resources to provide the instruction.
The goal is to help all students build a solid
foundation of reading skills and techniques so that they
experience the joy and sense of self-esteem associated
with reading to learn.

[1] Statement of Dr. G. Reid
Lyon, Chief Child Development and Behavior Branch, National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, to Committee on
Labor and Human Resources, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC, April 28, 1998.[2]
IBID

Parent Section:

Question 1: My son's state reading test scores
are low. When I listen to him read he stumbles over many
words. How can I find out what the problem is and what
can I do to help him?

Answer 1: There are four main areas that could be
causing his problem. They are phonics, comprehension,
vocabulary, and fluency. A reading diagnosis needs to be
made to determine: a) whether he can sound out or decode
the words at the level at which the text is; b) whether
he understands the vocabulary words at that level; c)
whether he comprehends what he reads; or d) whether he
can read fast enough to complete the test in the given
time. I suggest that you select a book at his grade
level and listen to him read to you. If he is struggling
with many words, then a more thorough reading diagnosis
needs to be made to determine which of the above 4
reasons are causing the problem. Once that is
determined, then he can get help in the appropriate
area.

Question 2: My daughter was diagnosed with ADD
two years ago. She is on medication, but I feel that she
has not shown any gains in reading in those 2 years. Is
it hopeless, or is there something that can be done?

Answer 2: Many people assume that the medication
for ADD is suddenly going to make someone a good reader.
The medication may help the child focus better, but the
child still needs to receive reading instruction in the
areas that he or she needs. The medication does not
teach reading; it helps the student stay concentrated.
If your daughter is not reading well, then we must find
out why. We should do a reading diagnosis to find out
her gaps in the different areas of reading. Once that is
done, then systematic instruction to fill in those gaps
must be provided. It is definitely not hopeless. Over
the years we have seen countless learners become fluent
readers, including students with ADD. There is
definitely hope. You are welcome to contact me with more
specifics about your daughter's situation and I will be
glad to help her.

Question 3: My 10th grade son used to do well in
school when he was in elementary school and middle
school, but now he is struggling and even getting C's,
D's, and F's in some subjects. What happened to him and
how can I help him?

Answer 3: It is not uncommon for some students to
experience a more difficult time in high school than in
elementary and middle school. Suddenly, there is a heavy
emphasis on reading textbooks in the various content
areas. There are also more tests and assignments. What I
recommend is that you find out whether he can read the
texts at the level at which they are written. A reading
diagnosis can determine your son's reading level. Then
we can compare that to the reading level at which the
textbooks are written. If there is a gap, then your
son's reading level needs to be raised through
instruction in the areas in which he has gaps. Another
cause may be that he can read and comprehend the texts
at the level at which they are written, but he lacks
solid study skills and test-taking skills. If he does
not know how to effectively study for a test, or he does
not understand the test format, then he may have trouble
demonstrating what he understands. This is another area
to look at. A third reason for his struggles may be that
he lacks the vocabulary knowledge for the texts that he
is reading. If he is missing many the meaning of many of
the words, there are likely to be gaps in his
comprehension. If this is the case, then he needs to
build his vocabulary in the content areas. Once the
proper reading diagnosis is made regarding his skills,
then steps can be taken to raise his grades. Memory
skills can also be taught. We have seen thousands of
children and teens raise their grades by just by
teaching them memory techniques. With the proper support
your son can as successful in high school as he was in
his earlier years!

How can I learn more? You can arrange to have an on-line demo from any computer with an
Internet connection. Without leaving your school or home, see how this time
saving, cost-effective, and proven program can help your students succeed.